Stop medicalising mental health issues, new chairman of Hong Kong’s advisory committee says
- Dr Lam Ching-choi’s appointment comes as large-scale survey finds nearly one in four children and adolescents have suffered from mental disorders in past year
- ‘The first line of defence is always their teachers, schoolmates, family, friends or even the friends they met on social media,” Lam says
The new chairman of a Hong Kong advisory committee has urged the public to stop medicalising mental health issues, following a large-scale survey that found nearly one in four children and adolescents have suffered from disorders in the past year.
Veteran paediatrician Dr Lam Ching-choi, a member of the city’s top decision-making Executive Council, confirmed he was named chairman of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health on Thursday. He is succeeding former justice chief Wong Yan-lung, whose third two-year term has ended.
Lam’s appointment was made amid a rise in the suicide rate among children and adolescents and a series of family tragedies, some of which involved carer stress.
Lam told the Post society should stop “medicalising” mental health problems, a perception that was challenging to tackle.
“Most students do not have mental health illnesses, and we should not say they do just because they attempted suicide,” he said. “They do have emotional issues, but that does not mean they should be sent to doctors straightaway.
“The first line of defence is always their teachers, schoolmates, family, friends or even the friends they met on social media. Their roles are way more important than a doctor.”
At least 28 students in primary and secondary schools took their own lives this year, compared with 25 in 2022, 25 in 2021, and 21 in 2020.